The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released a report on consumer experiences with debt collection, relying upon surveys of consumers regarding their experiences with both first-party and third-party debt collectors. The survey is part of the bureau’s ongoing efforts to regulate debt collection.
In previous comments to the bureau on the survey proposal, ABA urged the CFPB to explore whether consumers have had different experiences with creditors (first-party collectors) collecting debt and third-party debt collectors. The bureau conceded in the survey report that “[c]onsumers tend to take a more favorable view of creditors seeking to collect debt than of debt collectors.”
The Bureau simultaneously released a study highlighting online debt sales practices and highlighting concerns over the consumer information contained in the debt sale files.